The 2013 Monster Energy’s Shred Show Slopestyle

The 2013 Monster Energy’s Shred Show Slopestyle

“This is my first win this season, and I couldn’t be happier,” said first-place winner of the Monster Shred Show’s 5Star Slopestyle event in Whistler yesterday, 19-year-old Norwegian Emil Ulsletten.

The weather was a mixed bag of fog with warm spurts, but it’s safe to say 33 rider’s were stoked on the course…and really who cares about the conditions when the jumps are so good. The course consisted of a choice of a downrail, or a down-flat-down rail into a flat rail to drop off/snow-cliff/stepdown into a 60-foot stepover jump – notably most riders were favoring this first jump; whereas, most of the day’s Double-Cork action was going down – into another rail set of two cannons, a lift-tower tube on an up to 30ft gap off or a high-flat cannon, wrapping up with two more jumps: a 70 and 75 ft. Ulsletten’s winning run consisted of Blunt 270 on the downrail, 50/50 to a Front Three Tuck Knee off the cliff drop, to a Front Double 10, followed by a Back 3 out of the cannon, and finishing up on the last two jumps with a Backside 9 and a Cab Double 9.

Emil Ulsletten was crowed the victor based on tricks like the one in this photo.

Second-place Eric Willett was just happy to be on a mini-vacation back in Whistler with his wife. Upon mentioning he was riding incredibly strong on the upper section of the course, while impressing the judges with his Front Board to Fakie off the cannon, he replies that he’s just stoked to be back on the podium, jokingly adding that perhaps his wife will stay with him another year. Willett’s run consisted of a Front 270 on the downrail to a Boardslide Front 270 off the stepdown, to a Front 10 Double, Front Board to Fakie, wrapping up with a Switch Back 9 and a Back 7. Willett adds that his day was more about just landing his tricks and stomping them clean because the conditions were “crazy”. Judge Carter Smith concurs, adding that the soft snow could really screw up a rider’s run if they happened to be even just a little off on their landings.

Tyler Nicolson was riding really well all day.

Third place went to Ontario, Canada’s Tyler Nicholson who mentions that this course was the best he has ever ridden. His run consisted of a gap to Front Board on the down-flat-down, then a Nose Tail 450 off the stepdown rail, to a Cab Double 10, to a Switch Tail 450 off the big uprail, followed by a Back Double 10 to a (as he puts it a “sketchy”) Front 10.